Motherboard for amd athlon 64x2. Test results: performance improvement

Nutrition about those, how to buy a motherboard for an Athlon 64, in the middle of the cost, it will cost more, regardless of the small capacity between them in principle. The main reason for this is the wrong approach to their choice, or rather, the transfer of the newcomer, which has grown when working with products for Socket A, to Socket 754/939. As a matter of fact, the difference between the old and new platforms is great, to be more precise - they simply cannot be compared.

Navit in particular models based on nForce2 and KT880 chipsets, we, in fact, are small on the right with five-year-old developments that have recognized the evolutionary changes. But the motherboards for the new AMD Athlon 64 processors were created, as they say, from scratch, so I won’t to this particular type don't go. Nourishment is only in what you understand the coristuvachi? Most potential buyers cannot afford to look at a working system with Athlon 64 through those that are practically not available at great stores. The very reason for the addition of a processor (mostly for Socket 754) and the transition to the mother's board will be more likely to happen. Navigate on the Internet for information on qiu topic zovsіm is not rich, and wear more swedish glances, lower test character.

In order to fill this clearing often, we have chosen all the models for Socket 754/939, which are in our market, and look at what Ukrainian buyers can choose at once, which is the mother of today and in which one can create an exclusive system.

For those who are testing, on the basis of other similar materials, the range of brand representations is not so wide. Although mother boards for Athlon 64 today are in the arsenal of most manufacturers, not all of them are represented in our market in this segment. Prote 23 models from nine companies, we still got away with choosing, which by itself can already be called an indecent result.

Albatron K8X800 Pro II

As practice shows, the efficiency of robotics from the system board is rich in what can be insignificant, at first glance, nuances. The arrangement of different parts of the Albatron K8X800 ProII may have few peculiarities. So, close to the location of the microcircuit of the pivnichny bridge to the processor rose, the antrohi does not affect the settings of the processor cooler - the head-mounted mid-range radiator, which is on the chip, can reach a low height. Roztashuvannya roz'єmіv mem'yati allows you to direct the flow again, which cools її, near the upper part of the case, and even more importantly, the slots in the slots at the top of the screen should take into account the installation of the video card - in reality, it's a little underproduction.

The upper half of the K8X800 ProII is heavily packed with contact pads: between the roses of memory and the edge of the board there is an IDE port and the main ATX connector, so as not to damage the system by hand folding on this platform. And moving the FDD-interface to the very bottom of the case, maybe, can symbolize the residual capacity of the retailer in the form of a 3.5-inch storage device.

AOpen n250a-FR

The layout of this modern ATX-pay is cheaply unconventional, which can be seen more up to positive moments. Three roses of DIMM are sold to the beast, above the processor socket; right-handed vіd ny - lively, roses PATA and FDD. The single chip for the NVidia nForce3 250 chipset is right-handed for PCI and AGP slots. There are only two SATA roses, placed directly under the processor socket. And on this board, there is a SATA RAID controller, and in order of every single group, more SATA ports were added.

The placement of the components should be thought out - so, after checking the flow of the processor cooler "expensive", before hitting the radiator, blowing the video card, and after that - more memory. In addition, the flows of the processor cooler and the "drawing" of the cooling block, which, without a doubt, are suitable for maintaining the optimal temperature regime in the middle of the case.

The board is supported by wonderful equipment ("suspended" BIOS, two FireWire ports, S/PDIF digital inputs/outputs, such a port as a joystick port) and a great number of technical innovations.

ASUS A8AE-LA

Before us, having spent the engineering education of the motherboard on the new ATI Xpress 200 chipset. While the product is being expanded under the ASUS trademark and may have a name, the official wine is still not available (on the website of the collection of information about this model, it is not known far away). Regardless of the mATX form factor, the A8AE-LA can be safely placed in the category of top products. Integrated graphic core, slot for external PCI Express x16 video card, FireWire controller and some SATA ports (via ATI SB400 direct port) with the ability to create RAID arrays. It also supports PCI Riser, which rarely expands the scope for installation of "yalinka" and allows you to install a board in 1U cases with a PCI-card, slotted parallel to the board surface. I'll add a big picture of the 24-pin socket of life, which once again denounces the possibility of a server blocking of this product. The Xpress 200 chipset of ATI is more solid. For example, Canadians simply don't have any competitors for the functionality of a built-in video - there's no way to get up to the capabilities of an integrated Radeon 9600. Also, marveling at the serial symbols on the new set of logics will be sublime.

ASUS K8S-MX

One of the smallest boards to look around at the necessary attributes of an office platform. On the minimum area, it is placed on a pair of PCI-slots, memory sockets, SATA and IDE. Perhaps, through marriage, the designers had a chance to open the IDE connector by 90 °, and the FDD port to blame down the board, under the PCI slot. A high heatsink on the pivnіchny bridge, close to the expansion to the processor socket, it can stand on the front if non-standard coolers are installed. And yet, the nuances of the layout are unlikely to be important, even if the platform is given a position for the serial storage of office "robot horses", and not for enthusiasts, as they are constantly engaged in modernizing and overclocking their PCs.

From the receiving features of the payment, I would like to indicate the presence of the PCI-E x1 rose, as well as the branded color marking of the control connector and the indication of the front panel, to evaluate the choices.

ASUS K8V Deluxe/K8V SE Deluxe

Retailing between two products from ASUS is rather tricky. Even though the board with the SE index is an additional release of the original Deluxe, but it is not an updated version of the new bridge and the Gigabit Ethernet controller.

The layout of the elements is a reminder of the thoughtfulness of ASUS design engineers. It is possible to get close to the close roztashuvannya of the radiator of the pivnіchny bridge to the fastening of the processor cooler. The situation is even better, if some designs cannot be fixed on the standard socket above the processor. Possibly, solve the problem by adding an additional reinforcement of the radiator of the pivnichny bridge.

The topology of life, memory, and AGP slots does not indicate power. Placement of planks of memory with a spray of air blown by a stream of wind. As always, at the height it is equipped with additional roses on the back panel system unit: you can connect two USB ports, COM port and game port.

ASUS K8V-X

The model is clearly protected for economical lovers of the brand, yak, vtim, lie down to their systems without special claims. Pay series X traditionally with budget solutions with a kind of "gift" like ASUS - you can see S / PDIF on the rear panel, a Gigabit Ethernet controller or an audio codec like Analog Devices. It's not surprising, on K8V-X everything is more detailed, what to rob її to get more lucrative (especially the insurance price). Dodatkova komplektatsiya practical vіdsutnya, but it's unlikely to become serious at the factory, everything you need is already on the PCB and the rear panel. The undoubted plus is that you pay for the strained BIOS Setup and the visually different displays. It seems that ASUS engineers have been saying that all models without a blame, that they are trademarked, due to their mother's great overclocking potential, and the K8V-X is a good stock.

ASUS K8N-E Deluxe

A modern ATX board based on the widest chipset for Socket 754 is NVidia nForce 3. If you have enough free space on textolite, the placement of components could be good. An unexpected solution - the SATA ports were patched between the processor socket and the AGP slot. Wanting to be unruly tse viklikati is not guilty, but a bit too late landing of two IDE ports and roses of life is melodiously worthy of not being rich. For those who are not enough for two SATA ports, there is a Silicon Image controller with a SATA 150 and the possibility of creating "serious" RAID arrays (up to 0 + 1). The rear panel is balanced and functional, so it is unlikely that you need to add additional pads. In terms of overclocking, K8N-E Deluxe is among the champions - the FSB frequency of 250 MHz is just a miraculous result.

ESC K8T800-A

Violet textolіt tsієї pay ryasnіє unoccupied positions. With sufficient PCB area, this model can be called standard. Vaughn is not overwhelmed by roses, which allowed the designers to spread them freely, without particular tightness. Mutual expansion of the processor socket, the VRM block and the memory slots ensure airflow for the remaining two, and even though for the VRM elements it can be cooled, then for the memory modules - warm, heated. If the processor shows up too hot, then it is better to install the memory in the far slot. Although, judging by the stickers on the box and on the board itself, the most "important" processor is AMD Sempron, which is not the most popular 64-bit extension and works at equally low frequencies. The support of the entire AMD K8 family without borders is declared to this supporter.

Foxconn 755A01-6EKRS

It is well equipped and has a large area board for Foxconn. Tse to bring to the fact that it is not easy to get to all the connectors. So, IDE-and FDD-spoiled, and also the ATX-life bar is squeezed in one to one. At the same time, two pairs of SATA roses are soldered freely and in that area, pay, access to which is not blocked by the enclosures of disk storage devices. Large capacitor banks in close proximity to the processor socket and memory slots may be a sign of the overworld reinsurance of retailers. But first of all - about those who, with their help, the designers smoothed out the "shortness" of the tires. Simplify the ability of BIOS Setup and 36-month warranty to confirm that the product is suitable for the corporate market.

Gigabyte GA-K8NS Ultra 939, GA K8NSNXP-939

An example of pay, which having spent on testing, can be more called a technical skill, a lower finished product (yogo appearance is just around the corner). Interestingly, there is still no revision of the VT8237R bridge, and we have not been able to figure out what the letter R means. Outrageous – an inexpensive self-sustaining option for young Athlon 64 processors. The surprisingly modest (behind the world of Gigabyte products) rear panel with two COM ports. Plugging in the 24-pin power socket, similarly, is becoming traditional for another generation of Socket 939 with PCI Express support - this board is equipped with a plug that closes the additional contacts at a different power block to the old standard. Call the VRM module for this trademark attached to the promotion of respect - "at an eye" the number of coils on coils is the most matched with the products of competitors. How to appear on the operational characteristics, show the testing of serial samples.

MSI K8M Neo-V

This model is based on the VIA K8M800 chipset. The width of the board has been changed to make it necessary to place its own placement of other components - there are only two DIMM roses (which, by the way, sound quite enough), but there is a serious lack of handiness - when the Secondary IDE cables are installed, close the pop-up on the AGP rose moreover, there was not far away a condenser in this region.

However, it's not a fact that AGP will be installed in the system on the K8M Neo V. There will be requests for its own equipment, a standard office board equipped with an integrated graphics accelerator, as it should be for this class of add-ons. Nothing else is seen in the cohort of "office practitioners" - two SATA roses, AC'97 codec and Fast Ethernet controller from Realtek, hardware monitoring from Winbond.

MSI K8N Neo-FSR, K8N Neo Platinum

The difference between the two models is more important in their configurations - they have the same PCB (and, according to the models of competitors, covered with a dark matte varnish). The larger Platinum Edition board has more equipment, an additional FireWire controller via VIA and two more SATA ports - for installing the controller via Marvell. Everything else is identical, although on the board there is even less one unsoldered landing place for the great chip - more for everything, there is an additional Ethernet controller (the main one is GbE from Marvell).

Payments based on the NVidia nForce 3 250Gb chipset are subject to other minor changes in the processor socket. Three DIMM slots are placed above it, and the right-handed one is a life connector and IDE sockets. The reason for such a design was to expand the space between AGP and the processor socket and optimize the redundant flows in the middle of the case. Other features of the varto indicate the presence of a new (5.1-channel) audio output pad on the board, including optical digital output.

In the meantime, one more note of the Platinum-version was revealed for more respectful documentation. A brochure is added to the model under the name Test Report, de refurbishment of components, with any amount of payment rechecked already at the factory. It’s hard to say, why is there a practical sense in it - it’s even obvious that the test is not to be tested with a leather copy of the pay, but a series of scorched ones, but to finish the cicava itself.

MSI K8T Neo 2

This is one of the first boards that we brought to our laboratory just after the announcement of the new AMD processor socket. Marveling at the її vіdmіnostі in the layout and bred in the new models, you can stverdzhuvat that K8T Neo 2 - a representative of the next generation. As a minimum, black textolite and the soldering method "match" with the products that MSI produced in 2003. Prote such a controversy did not negatively signify on the demonstration of the results, rather on the contrary. Possibility to pay with low timings and to show a record swidcode allowed us to set records on our hour.

The VRM module is even worse - the elements of the tri-channel switcher are properly ripped, and the transistors are protected from overheating by hard heatsinks. The rear panel deserves even more praise: six audio cues, optical and coaxial S/PDIF, two FireWire sockets (one of them in the mini-Viconan) – all this allows you to talk about the K8T Neo 2 as a serious multimedia product. Without a doubt, pay the iniquitous future, especially since the price will become peaceful in an hour.

PC Chips K8 M860

This board based on the K8T800 chipset has a small width, which, however, did not show up on the layout of the components. True, the radiator of the pivnіchny bridge is close to the processor rose, but there are problems with the installations on it full-time We don't have a viniclo cooler. The complete set of pay, like any budget solution, is minimal - it’s less than the most expensive, the most expensive, additional supplementary strips that expand the communication possibilities of the payment, it’s not. From the "archaisms" it is significant CNR-roses, which in the rest of the hour daedals trap closer.

Everything else: five PCI slots, one AGP, two SATA ports, integrated CMI9761A audio, VIA VT6103L Fast Ethernet controller. Therefore, we may have a standard platform for an office PC, but the graphical one will be transferred to the old one.

Soltek SL-K8AN2-GR

This model is seen in the middle of the light purple color of all plastic components and its non-primary layout, which is more suggestive of the rose coloring on boards to the BTX standard. In every case, the memory slots are placed over the processor socket, which rotates 90° according to the stellar orientation. The microcircuit of the single-chip logic set is passively cooled behind an additional aluminum radiator and is right-handed in the PCI slots, so you cannot set the CPU cooler settings. Then, the capacitors to the VRM block are pushed up to the bottom and allow only the central "chip" to be beaten. Pay attention to this aspect of the varto when choosing non-reference coolers.

The peculiarity of the rear panel with roses: there are two consecutive damages on it, although the presence of one COM has become the standard for most models of all varieties.

Soltek SL-K8AV2-RL

Behind the grand scheme of things, this board is an analogue of the front model, with the same difference, which replaces the NVidia chipset, the VIA K8T800 wins here. The remains of the rest are made up of two microcircuits, the scheme for distributing the payment of the troch has changed, wanting to remember to do it importantly. On the minus side, the functionality of the rear panel is significantly weak - a set of two COM-ports and LPT is rather old, and the axis for sound roses in the space clearly showed up a little - only three main sockets were left out. It's a waste of time to download the Yakish codec VIA Vinyl, which rarely fails, such a scheme looks really marvelous.

Soltek SL-K890Pro-939

Yaskravy is a representative of the third generation of VIA chipsets with the PCI Express SL-K890Pro-939 support, clearly oriented towards serious home congestion. For the first time the retailers did not care about the details, they equipped the board "for the rest of the fashion." Two SATA ports that go up to the VT8237 pvden bridge, are connected to one more SATA pair like the Promise PDC20579 RAID controller. Zavdyaki youmu є one more IDE port, so virishuvat problem, where to connect hard disks and optical drive, just do not get it. This board has all the attributes of an overclocker product - here is the POST-code indicator push blocks VRM for processors and memory modules. Possibility of BIOS Setup also won't disappoint enthusiasts. Perhaps, turn this product of clicks for good if it is in our country company. It's even possible that the SL-K890Pro-939 board is worth it.

Soltek SL-K8TPro-939

This board is on the front of the SL-K890Pro-939, but in fact, the similarity is surrounded by an exclusive look. For its feasibility, it also comes up with novelties on the VIA chipset. The pieces of SL-K8TPro-939 appeared a long time ago, so you can see how to try it out while drinking it and try it on its interaction with Athlon 64 processors. The possibility of changing the voltage and the indicator of POST-codes, unfortunately, can not be accepted good results at the dispersal.

The first and so far the only board based on the new NVidia chipset, which has been taken to the Test Lab before us, was the ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe in the most possible configuration. The product really looks good: black textolite, two PCI Express x16 graphics ports, two SATA ports, VRM cooling radiators and chipset – everything I think is the prestige car Porsche Cayenne Turbo (it’s hard to say why, though, it’s not the fault of other associations). The additional Molex rose and the other hard VRM elements are not for painting. The fee is responsible for the security of living as a minimum of three large "non-aggressive" outbuildings - a processor and two video cards.

The greatest interest is the placement of two graphic roses between the key-switch. A small expansion of the pay, failing in the SO-DIMM format, simply remiking the expansion of links to two or one PCI Express port. Understandably, it was possible to block the microcircuit with a double jumper, but the A8N-SLI Deluxe looked less effective. A noteworthy feature is the new 24-pin rosette of life, so in this plan, the Intel platform will be released every day.

The results of the test made a little noise for us, so we dedicate nForce4 and SLI technology to the article, more importantly, the chipset itself, and the nuances of installing two video cards became the #1 topic among computer enthusiasts.

Delivery of bags

Carried out close to that time, the testing of motherboards for Socket A () revealed a number of shortcomings, which were not included in the remaining revisions of the nForce2 Ultra 400 chipset. zastosuvannya. Just for the record: on the test of one board on the Intel 865PE chipset, on average, about 40 minutes were spent, while for nForce2 it often takes more than a second year.

Now we can happily tell you: the Socket 754/939 platforms have a lot of problems, which were reviewed in the previous implementations of chipsets AMD processors, far away pozutisya. Practically all payments worked normally, navit without regard for those that, in fact, were non-serial ones, and more than half were less than the first versions of the BIOS. So, we are leading the way - I think, with the right marketing, we will soon have systems in our offices chosen by business companies based on Athlon 64.

The diagrams clearly show that bus frequencies of 240/250 MHz are the threshold values ​​for boards based on VIA K8T800 and NVidia nForce3 250 Gb chipsets. All protested models for Socket 754 will become a distant choice, but the most respected meritorious model Albatron K8X800 Pro II. Equipping pay for all the praise: high sound capabilities, full sound card VIA ENVY 24 PT (24 bit/96 kHz) with a full set of plugs, including digital input and output, plus the presence of FireWire to play just a multimedia combine. And if you guess about the overclocking quirks of BIOS Setup, as well as the low variability, it's obvious that competitors simply don't get a chance. The fee deservedly otrimu signs "Editor's Choice: Best Buy" that .

In the midst of products for Socket 939, I will see a better purchase ahead of time, since this platform is still far from the mass market. Well, the sign "Editor's choice: the best quality"(you can say, the pose of the competition) took the fee ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe. The results demonstrated by this model turned out to be simply phenomenal (the FSB value of 320 MHz for AMD processors seems to be quite naming), and that's why the language varto shows more detailed functionality of the chipset itself. In the meantime, the absolute champion of Socket 939 for all parameters - productivity, overclocking capabilities, equipment, and, arguably, prices.

The latest era can become the beginning of the era of 64-bit AMD platforms. In principle, those same people said that at the beginning of 2004, but there were no more reasons for that. Dosi Socket 754/939 stands in for Socket A. We are to blame for this, the processor manufacturing company itself, which continues the marvelous rank of continuing the life of long-old platforms. Prospects for Socket 939 are the most popular, brand new 90-nm processors based on Winchester core appeared on the Ukrainian market, moreover, in sufficient quantity. Chi zberezhetsya such a situation and nadaly, until nevidomo, so bazhayuschim mother of the most advanced AMD platform should be upgraded.

The motherboard (motherboard) is the main board in a personal computer, so the foundation for a PC is called, so before choosing a warto, it’s even more serious. Itself in the mother's payment to lay productivity, stability and scalability, so a further upgrade of your computer, the possibility of installing a harder processor, more memory, and so on.

Twenty years before the century dictates the mind - mind the commodity prosperity, the hour of the shortage has passed irrevocably. Today, practically any computer store can offer a great selection of products, including a great assortment of motherboards. It’s easy for the peresichny spozhivachev to grow up in this majestic prosperity, and the marketing programs and advertising went out to bring even more swindle. As you know, marketing is the engine of progress, and don't forget that what is "good" for an advertising booklet, "good" for your PC. It is very important to choose the right choice. Hopefully, our material will become a competent recommendation when choosing a motherboard.

In order to learn about the nutritional choice of the mother's payment, it is necessary for the mother to have basic knowledge. To that, first of all, go to the heart of the matter and try to apply it, we tried to spend a small amount of time on motherboards.

Motherboard

Otzhe, we have already voiced more, the motherboard is the main board of the current PC. In the basis of whether a mother's payment is to lie in such a way as a set of logics (or a chipset, to whom it suits). The chipset is the basic set of microcircuits that determines the feasibility and architecture of the motherboard. Speaking in simple terms, the chipset itself determines which processor can be installed on the motherboard, which type and type operational memory You will trim the motherboard just fine.

The chipset is made up of two microcircuits, which are called pivdennym and pivnichnym bridges. Pivnіchny place for its day-to-day bridge, what happens, and controls the flow of these tires. All the main computer buses are connected to the new one: processor, RAM bus, graphics bus, connection bus with a pivdenniy bridge. Pivdenniy mist vіdpovіdaє for peripherіynі pristroї and raznі zvnіshnі tyres. So, before the new connection: expansion slots, USB ports, IDE controller, additional IDE, SATA or FireWire controllers. Double-chip architecture - classical, not included and single-chip solution. Most modern sets of logic are single-chip solutions, pro architecture, at a glance of technology, do not change. At times, one chip is worn by one’s own ability and pivdenny, and pivnichny bridges, yak, with one’s own blackness, tied among oneself.

A modern set of logic can easily call for all the necessary capabilities: a robot with modern processors, a decent amount of RAM, a lot of IDE channels, a robot with Serial ATA hard disks, 8-10 USB ports for connecting calling peripherals. Deyakі chipsets can boast of such a possibility, like a creation of a RAID array.

Okremo wants to use the integration of logic sets - chipsets from the built-in graphics core. As a rule, budgetary motherboards are designed on such chipsets, as they allow you to save money for the cost of a built-in video card. However, in such a system, there are no miracles for graphic productivity. These solutions are more for office work, but not for computer games and rozvag. As it seems, there are no miracles - you have to pay for everything.

As we have already designated more, the main capabilities of the motherboard are determined by a set of logic, most often the motherboards' hacks are based on the controllers and codecs of third-party vendors - this is especially good for the segment of expensive Hi-End products. Such a pidkhid allows you to expand the functionality of the mother board. So, a lot of chipsets cannot support IEEE 1394, which will be more similar to a modern high-performance PC, so the companies-companies install a FireWire-controller. It's even better that a mother's payment maker can produce products for a different market segment - with such a rank of wines, you can be satisfied with the drink of the most troubled client. Zreshtoy vigramo mi - just keep calm. You need a motherboard with basic capabilities - you have the ability to buy an inexpensive motherboard from a good brand, in which of your child controllers there will be a measure of that sound controllers for daily cherry). Navischo overpay for zayvі mozhlivostі, yakami vіnіkoli not koristuvatemeet. Thank you, for whom you need a gigabit storage system and additional SATA- and IDE RAID controllers, choose more expensive and, obviously, a functional motherboard - good, such a possibility.

Modern additional codecs that are installed in motherboards, whether it is a SATA RAID controller or an additional network, you can do it garna yakist that vіdminnі mozhlivostі. Vignatok to become a sound controller, which is the AC '97 codec for most speakers. Most of all, the quality of the sound path, prote, suffers from a new one, so you do not present serious symptoms to the sound and you do not transmit professional activity at whom directly, whose solution is too much to stick. Deyakі vyrobniki vіdmovilis vіd vikoristannya AC97-kodekіv, zastosovuchi replacing them with discrete top solutions of the past years. As a butt, you can point the MSI K 8 N Diamond motherboard, on which the Creative Sound Blaster Live 24-bit discrete chip is used. Obviously, Sound Blaster Live 24-bit is not between the world, and yet the chip is much better, lower be-like AC97-solution. Varto signify that such decisions are made, as a rule, on top-end expensive motherboards.

At this time, mothers pay to the ATX standard (it is necessary to choose the most standard, because AT is already morally obsolete) is available in two formats: ATX and Mini ATX. The form factor imposes an exchange on the expansion of the motherboard and, depending on the number of slots, distribution on the motherboard. A current motherboard in ATX format can have approximately the following number of slots: 2-4 slots for installing memory modules, one slot for the AGP graphic bus or PCI Express for installing a video card, 5-6 slots for the PCI bus or 2-3 slots for the PCI bus and 2- 4 PCI Express bus slots for installing add-on expansion cards (modem, TV tuner, media card). Choosing between ATX and Mini ATX is to be based on your wimogs before PC. Do you know if you have any additional attachments and vicorists? Modem, mesh card, sound card, TV tuner? On the basis of these data, it will not matter to choose a choice. If your PC does not transfer any additional expansion boards, you can safely take the motherboard to the Mini ATX format, saving a lot of money. I think it’s worth explaining why the Mini ATX board is cheaper than the lower sized ATX board, it’s not a big deal - everything is clear here.

It's not a secret for anyone that hardware without a software warehouse is a hallway chain. The motherboard is not a culprit, the software warehouse, whether it's a motherboard or a basic BIOS input-output system.

For additional BIOS, you have the ability to adjust various parameters of your system, for example, the firmware of the memory subsystem, turn on and turn on the various additional controllers and in. We will not dwell on these topics in detail, for that which will require a great material.

As you can see, everything in our world is not ideal, and to learn more and more motherboard manufacturers are smart enough to pardon their products, you can go further than updating the BIOS for those other motherboards.

Choice of mother's payment

All of the above and є nebhіdnі basic knowledge, yakі nіbіbnі in order, schob hoch trohi to delve into the nutritional choice of the mother's payment.

In the theoretical part of the material, we pass without intermediary choice of the motherboard.

To sound the choice, it is necessary to choose the processor.

AMD platform

On this day at the market information technologies Various companies showcase the great range of AMD processors. Today, AMD is taking a leading position in the microprocessor market in Russia. We do not care about the corporate market, discussing the home market exclusively - here AMD feels like a fish in the water. Starting with the appearance of 64-bit Athlon 64 processors in 2003, AMD decided to take the label "forever attacking its main competitor - Intel". For a long time, Intel could not propagate a processor with a similar architecture and price: most of the time, the central processor Athlon 64 was the cheapest and most productive in the same addenda (for example, in computer games) of its competitor in the Pentium 4, buy a PC at home, give / give credit to AMD products themselves.

The peculiarity of AMD 64 architecture, which is featured in Athlon 64 processors and new Sempron (64-bit) processors, makes it possible to work with both 64-bit programs and 32-bit programs - without wasting the firmware and pratsezdatnost. Why, Athlon 64 processors can use such a cool technology, like Cool "n" Quiet, as it allows you to lower the clock frequency and, apparently, the voltage on the processor in the fall due to the rise of the tasks at the given moment. The craziness of Cool "n" Quiet is obvious - typing text in Word does not have such a great amount of computational tightness, as you can propagate the Athlon 64 processor, the reduction in clock frequency and voltage is pleasantly indicated on the thermal imaging processor.

At the moment, the Athlon 64 processors that are on sale are based on decal cores: ClawHammer, SledgeHammer, NewCastle, Winchester, Venice and San Diego.

The Athlon 64 processor on the ClawHammer core is morally obsolete, so I won’t buy it to look at it. The NewCastle core supports processors for both Socket 754 and Socket 939. The socket imposes a number of powers: for example, Athlon 64 processors on the NewCastle core for Socket 939 may have a dual-channel DDR memory controller, which is better for Socket 7. Of course, these processors have a different Hyper-Transport bus frequency: for the Socket 939 version, it should be 1 GHz, and Socket 754 - 800 MHz.

NewCastle core processors oscillate in 0.13 micron technology. The clock frequency of these Athlon 64 processors is not higher than 2.2 to 2.4 GHz. The NewCastle kernel transfers a 512 KB cache of another equal.

The SledgeHammer core wins out in the so-called Hi-End processors - Athlon FX and Athlon 64 with a 4000+ rating. Processors may have a dual-channel memory controller and 1 MB of cache memory of another level. SledgeHammer's vibration technology is 0.13 microns, and the Hyper-Transport bus can be clocked at 1 GHz. The processors operate at clock frequencies from 22 to 26 GHz.

Athlon 64 processors, based on Winchester, Venice and San Diego cores, are available exclusively for Socket 939, which means that the dual-channel memory controller and the Hyper-Transport bus frequency of 1 GHz can stink.

The Winchester core is powered by 0.13-micron technology and can have 512 kB L2 cache in its own order. The clock speeds of AMD Athlon 64 based on the Winchester core range from 1.8 to 2.2 GHz.

The Athlon 64 central processors on the Venice core are rich in what they repeat on the Winchester core - the same Socket 939, dual-channel DDR memory controller, Hyper-Transport bus frequency 1 GHz, cache memory of another equal with a volume of 512 KB. Prote є th row of features: for example, processors on the Venice core are used for additional technology of the so-called "stretched" silicon - Dual Stress Liner (DSL), which allows you to increase the speed of the transistorization of the transistors by a quarter. In addition, processors on the Venice core support typing SSE3 instructions. It can be said that Athlon 64 processors, based on the Venice core, with the first AMD chips, support the SSE3 instruction set. It also means that in the core of Venice, the problem of the robotic memory controller, which was present at Winchester, was eliminated. So, for an hour filling all the DIMM slots of the motherboard with DDR400 memory modules, the memory controller is working like DDR333. Fortunately, in the past, Athlon 64 (Venice) works without problems with a large number of memory modules. The rating of Athlon 64 processors on the Venice core becomes 3000+, 3200+, 3500+ and 3800+, and, apparently, the frequencies fluctuate from 1.8 to 2.4 GHz.

The San Diego core is the latest and most advanced for single-core AMD Athlon 64 processors. In general, the same Venice: dual-channel memory controller, Hyper-Transport 1 GHz, SSE3 instruction set, Athlon 64 processor on the San Diego core starts with a rating 4000 + (Real clock frequency - 2.4 GHz) and may have more cache memory (1 MB) of another equal, lower processor, based on the Venice core.

Besides Athlon 64 processors stand dual-core Athlon 64 X2 processors.

The Athlon 64 X2 family includes a few models rated 4200+, 4400+, 4600+ and 4800+.

These processors are approved for installation in a dedicated Socket 939 motherboard - smut, shob motherboard BIOS pay pіdtrimuvav qі processors. Dual-core Athlon 64 X2 processors are the same as all single-core Athlon 64 twins, with a dual-channel memory controller, a HyperTransport bus with a frequency of up to 1 GHz, and support for the SSE3 instruction set.

AMD Athlon 64 X2 processors are based on cores codenamed Toledo and Manchester. Vіdminnіst mіzh processors polagaє obsyaza cache-memory. So, on the core with the Toledo code name, there will be processors with ratings of 4800+ and 4400+, and there will be two L2 caches (on the skin of the cores) with a volume of 1 MB of skins. Set these clock speeds to 2400 MHz for Athlon 64 X2 4800+ and 2200 MHz for Athlon 64 X2 4400+.

The AMD Athlon 64 X2 processors are positioned by AMD as the solution to digital content. for coristuvachіv, as important is the richness of the flow - the possibility of winning a dekіlkoh resourceful addenda at once.

We looked more closely at the Athlon 64 and Athlon 64 X2 processors, which are recognized for the Mainstream, Gaming and Prosumer & Digital Media segments, but forget about such a large-scale and budget segment, as Value is the most popular and demanded on the Russian high-tech market.

AMD's Value segment is represented by budget Sempron processors.

Today, our market can support AMD Sempron processors based on two cores - Paris and Palermo.

Processors based on the Paris core are morally obsolete, they are released for a 0.13-micron technological process and are clocked exclusively at the Viconan Socket 754. These processors can have a single-channel memory controller and a HyperTransport bus with a frequency of up to 800 MHz. The main feature of the budget processor Sempron (Paris) is similar to the older brother Athlon 64 and the support of AMD64 technology, so, regardless of the K8 architecture, Sempron on the Paris core is a 32 bit processor. Before that, the cache memory of another processor Sempron (Paris) was changed to 256 kB for the equivalent 512 and 1024 kB for Athlon 64 family processors.

The core of Palermo at the district of Paris has recognized a number of changes. Thus, Sempron processors based on the Palermo core are manufactured using the 90-nm process technology.

This core is released for a long time and may have a number of revisions - D and E. Revision D is morally obsolete, so I don’t care about such processors, but you can be surprised to a larger current and fresh revision E. Sempron processors on the Palermo rev. E, like the Athlon 64 (Venice) processors, they use additional technology of the so-called "stretched" silicon - Dual Stress Liner (DSL), which allows you to increase the flexibility of the transistors in a quarter. Like the older brother Athlon 64 (Venice), processors on the core Palermo rev. E support a set of SSE3 instructions. Varto designate the budget line of Sempron processors based on the Palermo Rev. Part of the L2 cache has been spared, support for 64-bit extensions and Cool'n'Quiet technology. However, Sempron (Palermo rev. E), like the older brother of Athlon 64, may be NX-bit. To call Cool'n'Quiet's expense wrong is more inhumane. Undoubtedly, the cost for an overclocker: the cost of C "n" C - the impossibility of lowering the multiplier, obviously, and the expansion of the processor, it needs to be done differently, and the same system board.

Sempron processors for the 939 socket have been reported by AMD for a long time, until recently they were unavailable. On the right, in that the Semprons for Socket 939 vibrate in relatively small quantities, the great PC vibrators buy them. At the moment, only one Sempron processor model with a 3000+ rating is available in Moscow stores.

The line of AMD Sempron processors for Socket 939 is large and includes processors with a rating of 3000+ to 3400+ and another equal cache memory of 128 and 256 kb.

AMD Sempron processors for Socket 939 can boast of a new set of technologies that power their older brothers in the Athlon 64 line: support for the SSE3 instruction set, NX-bit and Cool "n" Quiet technologies, as well as support for the 64-bit AMD64 extension.

Sets of system logic

Motherboards for Athlon 64 and Sempron processors are manufactured based on a number of logic sets such as NVIDIA, VIA, ATI, SiS and Uli.

Let's look at NVIDIA chipsets. Today, 3rd and 4th generation nForce chipsets are on the motherboard market.

nForce 3 logic set for single-chip solutions and few modifications: 150, 150 Pro, 250, 250 Pro and Ultra. May be amazed at 250 Gb and Ultra-versions, because Rashta is already morally obsolete, and it will be important for you to learn about the sale, even though it is not included. Also, NVIDIA nForce 3 Ultra. Tsej nabіr logic, on vіdmіnu vіd vіd vіd vіd sіvіh brethren, pіdtrimuі bus HyperTransportіz frequency 1 GHz. Motherboards for nForce 3 Ultra are on sale for both Socket 754 and Socket 939.

Motherboards, which are based on the nForce 3 Ultra chipset, can boast of a gigabyte storage controller, eight USB 2.0 ports, two Serial ATA channels and the ability to create RAID arrays. In the yakost graphic interface AGP 8x is victorious. Like Bachimo, regardless of the age, the possibilities of nForce 3 Ultra are up-to-date and today. Paying extra prices for motherboards that are based on nForce 3 Ultra, such a solution will become an indestructible choice. Before NVIDIA nForce 3 Ultra, it's not a good idea to be surprised if you want to choose an inexpensive personal computer based on Sempron processors and the young Athlon 64.

Entry

Athlon 64 X2 architecture

Athlon 64 X2 line

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ - $1001;
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ - $803;
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ - $581;
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ - $537.

Athlon 64 X2 4800+: first acquaintance

Yak mi tested

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ (Socket 939, 2.4 GHz, 2 x 1024KB L2, core revision E6 - Toledo);
AMD Athlon 64 FX-55 (Socket 939, 2.6 GHz, 1024KB L2, CG core revision - Clawhammer);
AMD Athlon 64 4000+ (Socket 939, 2.4 GHz, 1024KB L2, CG core revision - Clawhammer);
AMD Athlon 64 3800+ (Socket 939, 2.4 GHz, 512KB L2, core revision E3 - Venice);
Intel Pentium 4 Extreme Edition 3.73 GHz (LGA775, 3.73 GHz, 2MB L2);
Intel Pentium 4660 (LGA775, 3.6 GHz, 2MB L2);
Intel Pentium 4570 (LGA775, 3.8 GHz, 1MB L2);

ASUS A8N SLI Deluxe (Socket 939, NVIDIA nForce4 SLI);
NVIDIA C19 CRB Demo Board (LGA775, nForce4 SLI (Intel Edition)).

1024MB DDR400 SDRAM (Corsair CMX512-3200XLPRO, 2 x 512MB, 2-2-2-10);
1024MB DDR2-667 SDRAM (Corsair CM2X512A-5400UL, 2 x 512MB, 4-4-4-12).

Productivity

Severe hostility

Visnovki

Irrespective of those that 64-bit AMD processors were announced a long time ago, the stench hasn't conquered any part of the market in Russia, regardless of all their advances. In my opinion, these are the main reasons why.

In the first place, it was immediately stunned that Socket 754 will not live for a long time, then now to invest pennies in the platform, doomed to die? In a different way, AMD has adopted coristuvachiv, that its processors are cheaper, lower than a competitor, the A64 pro maintains an approximate parity with Intel processors, not only for productivity, but also for price. Thirdly, the overclocking potential of the first instances of AMD Athlon 64 processors turned out to be small, and in the next hour we do not check for a transition to a new step with a reduced breakdown. And if so, then why not take the A64 R4 office, what kindly breaks up, it’s more, what prices can be equaled between them? Well, I’m sure, in a quarter, regardless of the numerical lines of the announcement of the A64 processors, regardless of those that, before the announcement, the most important manufacturers had already prepared samples of motherboards for a long time, it turned out that the chipsets are far from ideal, but pay for Athlon 64 deprive the bazhati of the best.

The NVIDIA nForce 3 150 chipset did not manage to repeat the success of its predecessor, nForce2 - the best of the chipsets used for Socket A processors. Some capabilities were lower than those of the competing VIA chipset, the HyperTransport bus worked more, and the possibility of fixing frequencies on AGP and PCI buses was ignored by the virobniks. The first two shortcomings are the VIA K8T800 chipset, which provides relief, but does not help fix the AGP and PCI frequencies.

A good illustration before what has been said can be written by me in other times looking at the motherboard Gigabyte GA-K8NNXP (NVIDIA nForce3 150). I just tested the Athlon 64 processor and the motherboard under the new one, and I myself recognized the new one and told you. At the wedding, I spent a little time, having lost my dissatisfaction. The key phrase sounded like this: "... a less stable processor, only running at a frequency of 225 MHz at a voltage of 1.6 V" and the whole snag in the words "less-less". The system was tested at a frequency of 225 MHz, but could see a pardon at 220 MHz. Perhaps on the right, it was due to the fact that the frequencies on AGP/PCI were dependent, or the BIOS version showed up too early, I took the motherboard on the VIA K8T800 chipset for rechecking, and it behaved so unreasonably. Radkіsny vpadok - I tested pristry, but did not write about it.

Infection, fortunately, the situation begins to change short bik. The payment processors for Socket 939 have already appeared for sale, the number of 64-bit AMD processors is decreasing, and for Socket 754 we are offering inexpensive Sempron 3100+ processors. Judging by the first results, the processors on the "right" Newcastle core, on the front of the first "pseudo-NewCastle", which were processors on the ClawHammer core, which had half of the cache memory turned on, trochs are broken faster, and the competitor, navpaki, shifting its processor to a hot and energy-efficient Prescott core.

advertising

Today, I am propagating the Gigabyte GA-K8NS motherboard, based on the NVIDIA nForce 3250 chipset and recognized for Socket 754 processors.

As a matter of fact, this version of the board does without additional controllers and all the advantages are based on the rich capabilities of the NVIDIA nForce3 250 chipset. Engineers experiment with breeding and, perhaps, motherly Gigabyte board GA-K8NS has some unique design features. For example, I haven't gotten any Serial-ATA roses yet, sorting them over the AGP slot.

Entry

In the rest of the hour, the market of the computer industry delighted us with the majestic variety of novelties in the world of components. It seemed that recently, our lives have seen new standards for DDR2 RAM, dual-core processors, new platforms for systems have appeared, but progress does not stand on the spot and already announced chotri-core processors, and new platforms will be expanded. This naturally captivated the market of video cards. Today, the specialists modify the models of video cards, reduce the tightness, and improve the cooling systems. However, far from all the koristuvachs of personal computers in the gut are all new items. Why work, if you want to play games today, but you don’t get a penny to buy a modern configuration of a gaming computer? After the emergence of that new platform Socket 939, the old Socket 754 went to another plane. Rich someone vvazhav її "dead-end" gіlkoy. Prote, after the announcement of the AM2 platform, Socket 939 itself opined in a similar situation. In addition, close to the fate of that, AMD company has pleased its owners of boards from Socket 754 with the release of AMD Athlon 64 processors, based on the latest revision of the Venice core to the E6 steping. So we all the same were surprised to see that the Socket 754 platform is being built today and try to understand: why is it so necessary to make happy the sellers of the "Zalіza" with a certain sum of penny signs for the purchase of a new computer, a lot of money and breathe life into what has already become familiar, instead of the system unit

Test systems

3 systems took part in the testing:

System #1

• Motherboard ASUS K8N, socket 754, NVIDIA nForce3 250
• Processor AMD Athlon 64 3000+ (o/c 236x10), Socket 754 (o/c 236x10)
• Memory 2 x 512 MB Kingston PC3200
• Video card GF 6800 GS Palit 256mb, AGP, Retail (o/c 500core/1300mem)
• Powerman Pro (Chieftec) 460W

System #2

• Mother MSI board K8N NEO3-FSR, socket 754, NVIDIA nForce 4-4X
• Processor AMD Athlon 64 3000+ (o/c 236x10), Socket 754
• Memory 2 x 512 MB SAMSUNG PC3200
• Video card XFX GF 7600 GS eXtreme Edition (XXX) 256mb, PCI-E (o/c 500core/1300mem)
• Living unit DELTA 350-100A 340W

System #3

• Motherboard ASUS M2N SLI Deluxe, socket AM2, nForce570
• Processor AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+, 2.4 GHz, Socket AM2
• Memory 1024 MB Samsung DDR2 PC4200
• Video card Gigabyte GF 7600GT 256MB, PCI-E
• Powerman 430W living unit

Further, in the productivity ratio tables and comments, we will name them: System No. 1, System No. 2 and System No. 3, obviously. Rozgin the rest of the system without being carried out, the shards of it represent in our view the option of buying a new PC (to upgrade), which will give you enough productivity in today's games, and as a result, you won't need overclocking.

Before the beginning of testing, I would like to say a few words about mother boards, processors and video cards that took part in testing.

Description of motherboards

1. Motherboard ASUS K8N

Inexpensive, with rich capabilities, the Asus K8N board is based on the NVIDIA nForce3 250 chipset and supports the AMD Athlon64 and AMD Sempron processors. Obviously, “the dream of an overclocker”, it’s important to name the board, it’s worth the whole investment in it. Adjustment of the BIOS (AMI flash BIOS) can please the most difficult drivers - available changes in the frequency of the processor bus from 200 to 300 MHz in 1 MHz, (required that ASUS K8N can not fix the frequency of the PCI \ AGP bus, which is more important when running) , HyperTransport bus multiplier, the board allows you to change the voltage supplied to the processor, memory, AGP bus. In addition, ASUS K8N allows you to fine-tune the timing in memory, which is also important when overclocking the system. During the process of overclocking, the board showed a peculiarity - a stable overclocking of the processor is only possible for increasing the frequency of the AGP bus by 1-2 MHz from the default 66 MHz (vislovlyuyu vdyachnist to Maxima price information). Okremo would like to see the special features of robots and pay with video cards of the GF6xxx family. This problem is relevant for the nForce3 + GF6xxx chipset, and the images appear for a short time in other 3D add-ons (the so-called “freezes”). During the process of exploitation of this payment at the link with the PALIT GF6800GS AGP video card, for an hour we were watching for a surreal picture. Prote, swearing, the fee has robbed the most important enemy. Software security, as it comes with the motherboard, pleased with the wide variety blue programs that utility. I especially want to enable the ASUS EZ Flash function, as it allows you to update the BIOS directly through the setup menu. For the upgrade, you don't need any more utilities to run DOS, ROM firmware and floppy drives, you only need to connect your computer to the Internet.

2. Motherboard MSI K8N Neo-3F

On the purchase of this motherboard, it was possible to remove the possibility of using a video card system with a PCI-E 16x interface (the board is based on the nForce 4-4x chipset) for small pennies, tobto. without changing the configuration of the system unit. In addition, before the arrival of a new video card with a PCI-E interface, it was necessary to operate the computer for three months, and here, the MSI K8N Neo-3F became the only option for upgrading the AGP port. Forget about the complete AGP 8x support (which is far ahead of the official MSI website), which was confirmed by tests, which were carried out independently and found on the Internet. Tim is no less, the presence of this port allowed me to calmly sit with some interchanges until the appearance in our wilderness of PCI-E video cards of the middle price range for reasonable pennies.

And here there is one more problem: when overclocking the memory of the mother, the mother goes down, because of which the jumpers on the motherboard turn less and less. What can be added to the impossibility of turning on the floppy disk re-verification and not even the control scheme of the processor fan wrapper. Natomist - round trains in the kit. Zagalom, ambiguous reaction in my life has not yet been. Ale tse zovsіm does not mean that I, as a result, became dissatisfied with the purchase;

3. Motherboard ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe

Asus M2N-SLI Deluxe motherboard is based on NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI chipset. Technical Asus specs M2N-SLI Deluxe Depending on the chipset capabilities and the number of additional controllers. Let's not guess the obvious speeches, the type of support Socket processors AM2, SLI for x8 mode and DDR2 memory. Six Serial ATA ports and one Ultra DMA 133/100/66/33 are implemented by the chipset, and additionally by a JMicron JMB363 controller, back panel. Three things are behind the new one on the rear panel of the IEEE 1394 rose, which is implemented by the Texas Instruments advanced controller. The chipset provides 10 USB 2.0 ports, some of which are routed to the rear panel, and two gigabit array controllers that work via PHY Marvell. For 8-channel sound of the High Definition Audio class, ADI 1988B is supported, neither coaxial nor optical S / PDIF. I/O functions are controlled by ITE IT8716F-S. I would like to know that the Asus M2N-SLI Deluxe board has six (sic!) fan connectors. The stench is also cut out by hand for connection: two roses are closer to the back panel, two for the beast and two in the lower right coddle.

If you talk about completeness, then it’s completely decent and includes:

• SLI local;
• UltraDMA 133/100/66 cable;
• floppy train;
• 6 SATA cables;
• 3 cables for connection of up to 6 SATA devices;
• bracket made of two USB 2.0 sockets;
• bar with IEEE1394 rose;
• kerіvnitstvo koristuvаcha ta Quick Start Guide;
• CD with drivers and utilities;
• set of programs InterVideo Media Launcher;
• cover for the rear panel;
• Microphone Array2-SNA manufactured by Andrea Electronics Corporation.

motherboard BIOS pay asus M2N-SLI Deluxe based on Award code and may not be bad overclocker capabilities. Including:

• changing the frequency of the clock generator: 200-400 MHz with a margin of 1 MHz;
• change the frequency of the PCI-E bus: 100-200 MHz with a margin of 1 MHz;
• DDR2 memory voltage change: 1.8-2.5 with 0.05 V;
• change of voltage on the processor: 0.8-1.5625 with a crock of 0.0125 V;
• change of multiplier from crop 1.

Attach the respect to the high upper boundary of the increased voltage in memory. AT early versions The BIOS changed the multiplier with a crop of 0.5.

Krіm tsogo in rozdіlі Advanced Voltage Control є є so possibilitає schodo zmeni vrugi:

• CPU/Chipset HT Voltage: 1.2-1.5, croc 0.05V;
• Chipset Core Voltage: 1.4-1.6, croc 0.1V;
• Chipset Standby Core Voltage: 1.4 or 1.6;
• Chipset PCI-E Voltage: 1.5-1.7, croc 0.05V;
• CPU Vcore Offset Voltage: Disabled, Offset 100mV.

As far as the timing is concerned, the list of parameters available for changing is already great and can fit only on a few arches.

Description of processors

1. AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Socket 754, Venice, ADA3000AKK4BX

As the name implies, the processor is based on the revision of the Venice core, it has 512 KB L2 cache, the operating frequency of the processor is 2 GHz, the operating voltage is 1.35V, the multiplier is 10x. Varying the faulty potential of the family of processors, we increased the BIOS FSB frequency to 240 MHz, the HyperTransport bus frequency was reduced to 3, the AMD QnQ function was turned on. The system was taken advantage of the first test, the CPU-z program indicated that the processor was running at a frequency of 2.4 GHz (240x10), the system hung for an hour after running some tests, so for stable operation, the frequency of the FSB bus was reduced to 236 MHz, and further testing was held from clock frequency 2.36 GHz (236x10).

2. AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Socket 754, Venice, ADA3000AKK4BX (OEM)

Selection of the best-guessed processor, only in OEM packaging, demonstrating similar performance before overclocking with similar performances after overclocking. Like a cooler, a boxed cooler looks like a Sempron 2600+ Soket 754 processor.

3. AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+

Processors with power cuts for Socket AM2 systems were stunned by AMD back in the middle of May. The same company released two classes of economical processors - with typical thermal imaging 65 and 35 watts. Tsі klassifіkatsіya dіє y doninі. The first group of CPUs currently includes the use of advanced dual-core processors that operate at frequencies up to 2.4 GHz inclusive and may have ratings of 3800+, 4200+ and 4600+. Taking the fate of the Athlon 64 X2 4600+ in our test, which works at a frequency of 2.4 GHz and can have a cache memory of 512 KB. The processor was not upgraded, the frequency of the processor for an hour of testing was left with the default - 2.4 GHz.

Description of video cards

Short characteristics:

• bus interface: AGP;
• memory interface: 256 bits;
• memory type: 256 MB GDDR3;
• RAMDACs: 400 MHz;
• chip frequency: 450 MHz;
• memory frequency: 1200 MHz.

The delivery kit includes:

• kerіvnitstvo of a koristuvach (among those with a Russian movoy);
• DVI-VGA adapter;
• disk іz driver;
• disc from CyberLink Power DVD;
• disk іz groyu Toca Race Driver.

The next step is to indicate that the card worked on the defaults, equal to the reference frequencies. So, the core frequency in the Low power 3D mode was 350 MHz, and the Performance 3D mode was 450 MHz, and the memory frequency was 1200 MHz. A standard cooling system is installed on the card, the memory chips are covered with aluminum radiators. For the help of the good help of the RivaTuner 2.0 RC 16 program, the video card was clocked up to frequencies of 500/1300 MHz, at which it was carried out further testing.

Short characteristics:

• bus interface: PCI-E 16x;
• memory interface: 128 bits;
• memory type: 256 MB GDDR2;
• RAMDACs: 400 MHz;
• chip frequency: 500 MHz;
• memory frequency: 900 MHz.

The video card of the American brand XFX was selected, as usual, from China. Looks like 7600GS DDR2 is a reference design for standard passive cooling that other brands win. Rodzinka screams at the frequency of the chip and memory, and it becomes 500 MHz for the chip and 900 MHz for the memory, with which the Infenion chip vibrates with an hour of vibration of 2.3 ns. I'll guess that the frequencies of the "superior" 7600GS DDR2 become 400/800. Well, not bad for a small price difference. It is worth noting that the Vikoristan company can detect the indication of the thermistor embedded in the core, which allows especially unsafe short-term users to set their threshold for turning on the card in case of overheating directly on the driver tab without additional manipulations with the BIOS of the video card. Obviously, all diagnostic utilities can do a wonderful job of reading temperature readings. A card is supplied for small, showy, for corporate colors, boxes. The delivery set is so typical for cards of this price range:

• manual (for our type and Russian, which is acceptable);
• DVI-VGA adapter;
• disk with driver and utilities.

The card showed a lot of soundness before overclocking to frequencies of 530/1000 without additional entries, for which it was tested.

Short characteristics:

• bus interface: PCI-E 16x;
• memory interface: 128 bits;
• memory type: 256 MB DDR3;
• RAMDACs: 400 MHz;
• chip frequency: 560 MHz;
• memory frequency: 1400 MHz.

Our looker plays the role of "bee, stars dance." It's definitely a good middling piece, which exactly repeats NVIDIA's reference design. The opening of the card was not carried out.

Test results: performance improvement

As a tool we victorious:

• 3DMark03 (build 3.6.0) Basic Edition (Free, Limited)
• 3DMark05 (build 1.2.0) Basic Edition (Free, Limited)
• 3DMark06 (build 1.0.2) Basic Edition (Free, Limited)
• DOOM3

The most current system (No. 3) was completely cleared, in another place, behind the thinner video card, the system No. 1 was decompressed and the system No. 2 stopped working.

It's amazing, but a fact - System No. 1 veers forward, imaginatively, beyond the 6800 GS's large memory bus. 7600GT does not recognize the presence of a dual-core processor in System #3.

Bigger current system reinforces the status quo. Give respect to the minimum gap between System No. 1 and System No. 2.

We tested two video card upgrades, the results were linked to the table. Testing showed that here the “low power” of the video cards became the driving factor.

The situation is repeated: System No. 3 is new to the leaders, but to give respect to the insignificance of the competitors. System No. 2 and No. 1 are again demonstrating a practically identical result, thereby confirming the thesis about the "processor-independence" of the system. The result of the dual-core readings is indicative of the non-optimization of new add-ons.

Visnovki

Let's bring the bags. In the course of testing, we had a thought that upgrading to a larger modern platform without changing the video card would not bring special dividends. As shown by our small study, the ability of a video card to seriously add to the test results. Dіyshovshi tsgogo vysnovka, we summarily combed the entire Internet and additionally explained that this situation is typical for other systems, including new ones. hard processor Intel Core2 Duo and changes only with different video cards of a higher class, and therefore higher varsity, such as 7900GS. Moreover, if you switch to a new platform, you plan to upgrade to CPUs and GPUs similar to the firmware code, then cardinal changes to the shorter version of the rose type and the addition of a motherboard dual channel mode robots remember nothing in the mind. So that the "old ones", practi- cally with the same functionality, that the new mothers pay for a significantly lower price, look decent, bring on the aphids of the modern systems of the middle level. Well, no matter what SATA 2 is, it's possible for someone to live.

Dyakuєmo for nadan “a pichka, like they danced” Oleksandr Kotrusova a.k.a. S.A.N.